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EVERYTHING IS BROKEN – A LAMENT

In the beginning it was all good. Very good.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Gen. 1:31a NIV)

But I am lost.

Or broken.

Is that the same thing?

I struggle to distinguish between them. Which am I?

I have always felt broken. Then someone said not only broken, lost.

Which is it?

I look around to see where I am. Am I really lost?

Maybe lost is not just being in an unknown location, but a state of being. Like the empty cistern that can no longer hold water, I am unable to fulfill my purpose. Broken and poured out. Purpose lost. Position lost. Usefulness lost. Wholeness lost. Confidence lost. Broken.

I appear to be whole, yet there is an unseen “hole” in me. A deep wound.

I think I have been broken for a long, long time. Sometime in my youth maybe, when the world was still full of promise and hope. It was sometime then that I awoke broken.

What broke me? I do not remember. Like the man who while working, discovered he had a bleeding wound with no idea of the cause. Broken, poured out.

I tried and tried to fix myself, but I remained broken, all hope lost.

Then a friend told me that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted, to save the lost.

by Larry VanHoose

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18 NIV)

They said he came to find the lost, to heal the broken, and to give prisoners freedom.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners , to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

Isaiah 61: 1-2a (NIV)

It is not just me; everything is broken. The whole world is broken. Look and see. A broken cistern. A hole in the heart. The lifeblood of this world rushes out while its inhabitants ignore or numb themselves to their broken condition. There is a temptation to lose all hope and fall into despair.

But despair not – there is good news!

Because of God’s love for his creation, his children, Jesus came to save it – me – you.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10 NIV)

And,

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145:18 NIV)

Don’t stay broken.

The Lord is near to all who call on him…

Have you heard? Surry Living Magazine is for sale!

It's true — Surry Living magazine is for sale! After five plus years of pouring their hearts into this fun and rewarding adventure, several significant changes have occurred in the current owners' other professional endeavors. Because of these new demands on that ever-so-limited supply called time, the owners of SLM have had to make the difficult, even heartbreaking decision to put their "labor of love" on the market.

If you have interest in magazine publishing or maybe just thought of having an outlet for your own creative juices, this might be just the opportunity you have been dreaming about! For more information, contact co-owner Larry VanHoose at larry@surryliving.com or message him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SurryLiving.

At SLM, we look forward to helping the new owners to grow and flourish while hopefully continuing to bring this fun and inspiring regional lifestyle publication to the Surry County area for years to come!

by Joanna Radford